Let Me Mend Your Broken Places
by skimmy77
Summary: An old enemy shows up to Starling City to make Oliver Queen suffer, forcing him on the run with the only people he can't live without: Felicity and Connor. Felicity is forced out of her comfort zone as they go completely dark with no word from her friends, while she tries to shelter Connor's innocence, and keep the love of her life from shattering to pieces and losing his soul.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is primarily Oliver and Felicity's story. There will be enough plot to fill in the blanks, but the majority of this story will be centered on how the events in Starling City triggered their journey and how their relationship is affected. Heads up, it's gonna get dark before it gets better.**

_Let me pick up the pieces that lay scattered.  
>Let me mend the heart, that I once with a lie shattered.<br>Let me heal your wounded heart, and put the pieces together.  
>Let me take you by the hand, and lead the way.<br>Let me hug you tight and push your fears away.  
>Let us be happy and erase all the hurt!<br>-Philip T. M._

The vehemence of Oliver's steps toward their house frightened Connor and terrified Felicity. She felt like a ball of lead had dropped into her stomach, and for a few seconds she couldn't take a breath. He had stormed past them to run upstairs, dressed in his leathers. The fact that it was broad daylight and the Arrow could be spotted going into their house meant that he wasn't particularly concerned with being discovered.

"What happened?" she called after him. She didn't hesitate to grab Connor's hand and run after Oliver. "Oliver! Where's John? The kids? Thea?"

She followed him into their bedroom, and watched with alarm as he went into their walk in closet, pulled out his duffle bag, and started packing clothes. He spoke to Felicity as he packed. "Felicity, go to Connor's room and get some things together. Get the biggest bag you can find. Hurry."

This was bad, then. Really bad. She allowed herself just a second of terror before clamping down on her emotions, for Connor's sake. She pasted on a smile.

"Ok, bud," she said with her most enthusiastic voice. She bent over to look him in the eye. "Looks like we're going on an adventure."

"Like Fable?" Connor asked, his eyes widening with excitement.

"Yeah, like Fable!" she agreed, getting into the story. "You, me, and your dad are going to go to another town, and we'll find out our next quest there."

"Do we get to fight werewolves?" For some reason, that was his favorite part. The boy was obsessed with werewolves, which she completely blamed on Roy. The werewolves in the game never ceased to freak her out, but she braved them anyway because Connor loved playing Fable with her.

"I don't know about werewolves, but there might be some bandits."

"Oh," Connor nodded solemnly. "But my dad will take care of them."

She heard Oliver freeze at Connor's words. They had never told Connor about their other activities yet; she wasn't sure he was old enough (he was still a single digit kid), and Oliver didn't want to expose his son to any of it, ever. Which she thought was wrong, because lies had torn his family apart, and she wanted to break the cycle. But, like a true Taurus, he wouldn't budge. It was an argument they've had over and over.

She looked over at him with dread, not because she had said anything to Connor, but she knew he would think she betrayed him. Again. Even though he had been dying that one time. And for her, there was no choice to make.

She was right. He was looking at her with those same, pissed off, teary eyes. She mouthed, 'I didn't say anything," nipping his bad conclusion in the bud. He clenched his jaw, still frowning, but she no longer saw betrayal in his eyes. He believed her.

She turned back to Connor. "Oh, your dad will take care of them, huh?" she asked, going for levity. "Why's that?"

Connor shrugged. "'Cause that's what dads are supposed to do."

They both took a relieved breath. They had worked themselves up for nothing. Oliver's paranoia was rubbing off on her. When she heard Oliver return to his packing, it reminded her of her task.

"Okay, let's go to your room and gear up!"

"Okay!" Connor took off toward his room. She jumped when she felt Oliver embrace her from behind.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her neck. "I should have known better. You've never let me down."

She sighed. _I guess we're hitting all the buttons today._ "Yes I have, and I will again. You have to stop putting me on a pedestal, Oliver. It's a lot to ask of me." She felt him shake his head. Agree to disagree was their default compromise, and this time would be no different.

"Thank you for being so amazing with Connor," he added, tightening his arms around her torso.

She leaned her head back onto his shoulder and placed her arms on top of his. "He's a great kid. It's really easy." She bit her lip, wondering if she should go there, and decided she needed to know. "What happened?"

The speed at which his demeanor changed made her dizzy. He stiffened, dropping his arms back to his sides, and took a step back. "I can't talk about it right now." He turned on his heel to grab the duffle from the closet and then brushed past her to go downstairs. "Get him packed and meet me at the car," he told her in his bossy tone, one of her least favorite. Not the bossy-because-of-a-mission tone he used when he was hooded up; it was the do-as-I-say-and-don't-ask-me-any-questions dismissive tone that she really didn't like. She wasn't his soldier. She was his partner_._

But she knew right now was not the time to challenge him on his attitude. Clearly the situation was bad, and she knew he needed them safe before he'll relax enough to talk. So she did as she was told. She packed all of Connor's essentials, and another bag for toiletries (because Oliver never remembered to pack those). She kept up a cheerful attitude for Connor's sake, and met Oliver at the car.

"Do we need to pack food?" she asked, putting the bags in the back.

"No," he said distractedly, looking down at something in his hands. She stepped toward him to see what he was holding.

"Passports?" she asked with alarm. "Are we leaving the country?"

He didn't answer her. He just opened her door and waited for her to get in.

She took in his expression. It was unnervingly blank. The only sign of emotion was a tick in his jaw. Knowing a lost battle when she saw one, she just got into her seat. Oliver closed her door, walked around the car to his door and got in.

"Can I ask one thing?" she peered at his face curiously.

"What."

She flinched at his growl. "Are you gonna change, or just keep walking around as the Arrow?"

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter anymore." With that, he started the car and drove, heading away from Starling City.


	2. Chapter 2

They weren't on the road for even two minutes when she decided this would be the longest ride of her life. She had pulled her phone out of her purse to check her messages, and Oliver promptly ripped the phone out of her hand. She squeaked in shock as he pulled off the back of her phone and popped out both the battery and the sim card before pocketing everything.

"What the hell, Oliver," she whispered, mindful of Connor in the back seat.

"No electronics," he whispered back.

"What if John tries to call?"

He didn't answer her question.

She crossed her arms in a huff and turned her body away from him. She understood his need to protect his family but the emotional blackout was really getting to her. At this point, any news of their friends would be welcome, even if it was bad news. The only thing she couldn't deal with was not knowing. Oliver knew that about her, too, which made his silence even more aggravating.

"Are they at least alive?" she whispered.

She was met with stony silence. His face gave nothing away, but his refusal to answer put a pit in her stomach. If they were alive, he would have been quick to reassure her, not wanting her to worry. If they weren't…

She swallowed the sob that wanted to escape her throat. She shut her eyes against the tears that wanted to fall. He wasn't going to say one way or the other, and she didn't need to jump to conclusions. Besides, there was a long list of people Oliver had thought was dead but turned out to be alive.

She took a deep breath to center herself. She couldn't afford to fall apart right now. Her boys needed her.

About a half hour into the drive, Oliver pulled into a small alley and stopped the car. She looked around the alley to figure out where they were. She saw a couple of rolling steel doors, the kind that storage facilities usually have. Next to one of them was a door with what looked like Russian lettering.

_Bratva,_ she thought with a frown.

"I need your tablet," Oliver murmured, hand outstretched expectantly.

She glared at him. "To do what, exactly?"

He glared back at her. "Felicity." In other words, do-as-I-say-and-don't-ask-any-questions.

She reached into her bag without looking and thrust the tablet violently into his hands. They engaged in a hostile staring contest, communicating their displeasure with each other. He twitched his head toward Connor. She shook her head heatedly. Connor was currently entertaining himself with his Nintendo DS, and she wasn't about to take it away from him. Oliver's stare intensified, and his head pitched forward. She narrowed her eyes at him and pushed her head forward, getting in his face. He narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw. She shook her head again.

"Connor," Oliver started, and she clapped her hand over his mouth. He batted her hand away. The glaring continued.

_It's harmless,_ she mouthed at him.

_No electronics, _he mouthed back. He turned in his seat. "Connor, I'm gonna need your DS."

"Wait, I'm almost done with this board…"

"Connor."

"Dad!" Connor whined. "I'm so close!"

"CONNOR!"

Felicity and Connor looked at Oliver with shock. He rarely raised his voice to Connor, and only used his daddy voice when absolutely necessary. But this wasn't exactly his daddy voice. It was borderline out of control. Angry. Felicity's heart thudded in her chest. Connor wordlessly handed the DS over to his father, lips trembling, face pale. That made Felicity angry.

"There's no need to yell, Oliver," she murmured quietly.

Oliver closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, she saw _her_ Oliver again, if only for a moment. He was looking at Connor with regret. He reached out his hand to touch his knee.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "I shouldn't have lost my temper. Forgive me?"

Connor simply nodded.

He regarded his son for a moment, looking mournful. Then, as if a switch had turned off, his expression went neutral again. His eyes, devoid of any emotion, fell on Felicity for an instant before he turned around and got out of the car.

Felicity drew in a shaky breath. She looked back at Connor, and her heart broke at what she saw. His head was hanging, and she thought she could see tears on his cheek. She got out of the car to climb in next to him, and held him to her side, shushing and rocking as he wept.

"He's not mad at you," she reassured.

"Then why did he yell at me?" he cried softly.

"He's just scared right now. Sometimes, when people are scared, they get angry, because being angry feels easier than being scared."

Connor sniffled. "That doesn't make any sense."

Felicity huffed a laugh. "No, it doesn't."

She held him for a few minutes until he seemed calm. "Do you want to read a book?"

"No," he murmured dejectedly. "I just want to be left alone."

She sighed internally. _Like father, like son._ "Okay," she conceded, giving him one final tap on his shoulder before withdrawing.

She got out of the car to get back to the front seat, but considered her options. The door with the Russian lettering was partially glass, so if she tried to peek, chances were fair that she would get caught. And she really didn't want to test Oliver's patience right now. She looked at the entrance of the alley, wondering if she could get away with looking around for a phone, but she didn't want to stray too far from the car. Besides, this looked like a seedy neighborhood, and it had been easily a decade since she saw a payphone. She got back in the car with a sigh.

She had her car key, and the car had a radio. She could tune into a news station, on the off chance that she could learn something. With a quick glance at the door, she pulled out her keys and turned on the car just enough for the radio. She scrolled through the satellite stations until she found Starling City's news channel. What she heard made her bolt up in her seat with panic as she quickly turned down the volume to keep Connor from hearing anything.

"…just tuning in, the top two stories this afternoon have been about the bombing at Queen Consolidated, and the shocking revelation of the identity of Starling City's vigilante, Oliver Queen. Ten years ago Oliver Queen went missing and was presumed dead after the Queen's Gambit went down in the North China Sea…"

Felicity let out a sharp breath that she didn't realize she was holding. She pressed her ear up against the speaker on the dashboard, trying to absorb everything coming from the news channel. She grumbled with frustration as they didn't give her any meaningful information. They were talking about Oliver's history of being lost and then being rescued, followed up by the history of the Arrow's exploits. What she wanted to hear about was the explosion. Is that where her friends had been?

She had been so absorbed with the news that she yelped in surprise at the sound of Oliver's door opening. She looked at him guiltily, while he just raised an eyebrow at her. He punched the off button on the radio with his thumb before closing his door and starting the car. He drove slowly to the end of the alley, and then turned off the car, taking her keys with him.

_Damn._ Well, at least she knew something. She knew there was an explosion, which may or may not have involved her friends, and she knew that Oliver's secret was no longer a secret. That explained him wearing his leathers, which, she realized with a start, he was no longer wearing.

Her car door opened suddenly and she yelped, again. Oliver was looking down at her blankly. "I need you to move all our stuff to the other car while I wipe this one down for prints."

She nodded, a little too quickly, and got out. She looked at the other car that had suddenly appeared in the alley. It was an old, boxy sedan, which had clearly seen better days. It looked older than Oliver. Its front end was facing the entrance to the alley, so its back end was mere feet from their current car. It would make transferring their stuff easier.

She walked up to the trunk, trying to figure out how to open it. It didn't look like there were any buttons or keyholes. She walked up to the driver's side to see if there was a release lever, but there wasn't. What kind of car didn't have a trunk release?

"Felicity," Oliver called out to her. She turned around to see him standing by the trunk. He beckoned her over with one finger. She walked over and watched as he rotated the emblem out of the way to expose a keyhole. He handed her a key, which she took with a huff of embarrassment. _Patronizing asshat._

"No need to call me names, Felicity," he said with an amused smirk.

"Damn, I said that out loud?"

He just quirked an eyebrow at her, and then turned toward their car. Their former car, she thought with a sigh.

As she started transferring their stuff, she heard Oliver talking softly with Connor, inviting him to help him. This surprised her, since she didn't think he would include him in these type of activities. Connor seemed to perk up at this olive branch that was being extended, and her boys set about the task of removing all evidence of their existence on the car.

He seemed to be in a slightly better mood, which both relieved and worried her. Relieved, because she preferred a less angry Oliver. Worried, because it was a mood swing, and those tended to get worse when he was stressed. And there was plenty to be stressed about. Especially considering…

She shut down that thought process quickly, and she could now empathize with Oliver distancing himself from his emotions. The mere possibility of everyone she loved being…her mind couldn't handle it. If she thought about it, she would fall apart, and that was something she couldn't do yet until they were safe.

Yeah, she understood where Oliver was coming from.

She had finished moving their things from the car except for one thing; his ever present trunk of island stuff. She decided to leave that to him, because it was heavy and bulky and there was no way she would be able to carry it by herself. She turned around to find Oliver removing the license plates from their car.

"The only thing left is your trunk," she told him, and he nodded. Now that she had nothing to do, and nothing but her thoughts to occupy her, she felt restless. She paced as she waited for Oliver. She checked and re-checked their luggage. She had no idea where they would end up; did she pack the right clothes for Connor? She was pretty sure Oliver had packed a gun somewhere. Would they be flying? How would they get past security? Well, considering he had just met with the Bratva, she had a feeling they weren't flying commercial. And, she also had a feeling they would be sticking with the Bratva connection throughout their getaway, which meant Russia.

"Great," she muttered. "My favorite place."

"What?" Oliver asked.

"Nothing," she dismissed him quickly. "Just talking to myself."

If they were going to Russia, how long would they be staying there? Just until the threat had passed? And how long would that be? If everyone was…who was left to fight? A.R.G.U.S. maybe…

A spark of hope bloomed in her heart. Maybe A.R.G.U.S. was already fighting. Maybe A.R.G.U.S. had been keeping an eye on all of them, and maybe A.R.G.U.S. got to their friends in time. They had already proven that they would protect their assets at all costs, and Team Arrow had become one of their assets over the past few years, since the first time they fought Slade.

She clung to that tiny ray of hope with all her might. She reminded herself that she didn't have all the facts, and neither did Oliver. They didn't _know,_ beyond a shadow of a doubt, whether their friends had made it or not. So until she had definitive proof, until she saw their bodies with her own eyes, she would refuse to believe they were dead. It just wasn't an option.

Suddenly feeling much better about things, she stopped pacing and straightened her posture.

Oliver noticed the shift in her demeanor and looked up at her, tilting his head inquisitively.

Deciding to ignore his questioning look for now, she asked, "Is there anything else I can be doing right now?"

His eyes narrowed just the tiniest bit, knowing she was changing the subject on purpose, but he shook his head in reply. "We're almost done."

"Okay."

A couple of minutes later, everything was packed, and they all got into the beater car to continue their getaway.


End file.
